"Son of a bitch..." Malcolm grumbled as he flipped his phone shut. "Why post the job if you don't need the help..."

Malcolm looked around the posted jobs again. The best one was a dishwasher job, which he groaned at. He hated having pruny fingers. He scrolled back up to the top of the page, click on the option to show the licensed trainer jobs. He scrolled through, reading a couple options. Moving help, finding a lost item, watching pokemon for a weekend. Every job there was better paying and a better work environment.

Malcolm hovered his cursor over one of the options trainer options. It lingered there for a few minutes as he sat in silence.

You're gonna be a goddamn pokemon trainer, whether you fuc-

Malcolm slammed his fist on the library desk, causing the few people nearby to jump. He shot his head side to side, before pulling down his hat and muttering a "Sorry," as he made his way out of the library.

Dishwashing it is...

@jeroukoo

Not very many people were on the sidewalks as Malcolm walked to the restaurant where he would be working this evening. The manager said his shift would start as soon as he could get there, and to be no later than 3pm if at all possible. This wasn't a problem. Malcolm only spent 45 minutes at the library. It was almost 12 now, and it would only take 20 minutes to walk there.

Halfway through his walk, underneath a train track bridge, Malcolm spotted a lonely looking Patrat. It seemed cold, hungry, and lost, probably separated from its family.

(OOC Note: I moved Malcolm's marker on the map, to show where this Patrat encounter occurs in the real world. You can use satellite view to see the area for yourself.)

OOC: Sounds good.

Malcolm made his way to his shift, dreading it's start. Aside from the pruny fingers, dishwashing meant being bent over a sink for a long time, which would kill his back.
"But money is money," he sighed. "Don't have the luxury of turning it down."

While walking over to the restaurant, he figured he would let his pokemon get a little bit more exercise before they had to be kept in their balls while he worked. Even though it was still a bit cold outside, Ex and Screech enjoyed getting ability to move around some more. Split, on the other hand, stayed levitating closely to Malcolm.

"Zubat!" Screech called out, head focused on the bridge they were passing by.

"What's up, pal? Something bothering you?" Malcolm looked over in the direction of the bridge, catching eye of the Patrat. It looked pathetic, shivering underneath the bridge. Malcolm could also tell it was pretty young, considering it's size and all. Malcolm felt bad for the little guy, but that was about it. "Yeah, looks like he has it rough. But he's wild, he'll figure it out."

"Zu..." Screech chirped softly, gaze turned to the ground. Malcolm softened up a bit, realizing why Screech called out.

"He's lost like you were, that's it, huh?" Malcolm sighed. He flipped open his phone again to check the time.

12:04... I got plenty of time...

"Alright, alright, you win, pal." Malcolm said, making his way towards the Patrat. "We'll make a little food and see if he bites."

Malcolm stopped about 20 yards away from the Patrat, as not to scare the thing. He pretended like he didn't see it as he pulled out his campstove. He went to the cold pack of his backpack and pulled out an egg. He cracked it on the stove and began cooking it, hoping the aroma would bring the Patrat over.

@jeroukoo

The wild Patrat took immediate notice of Malcolm and his Pokemon. He watched carefully as Malcolm started to cook. As the smell became stronger, he found himself walking toward it. It was drawing him in and becoming the only thing he could think about. His belly grumbled with each passing step.

He must be really hungry if he isn't scared of the four of us...

Malcolm turned his head to the little guy. He had to admit, it was cute, but be didn't want to get too attached. He could barely get enough money for the pokemon he had now.

"Want some, little guy?" Malcolm gestured toward the egg. "Come on, don't be shy."

Malcolm motioned Ex over.

"Ex, give the little dude some food."

"Electabuzz."

Ex scooped up the egg in his hands and held it out towards the Patrat.

@jeroukoo

The Patrat carefully accepted the food from Ex, but the moment it was in his grasp, he ran a few feet away. The egg was eaten in a matter of seconds. He then bounded back toward Malcolm, stopped, and tilted his head... clearly asking for more.

Malcolm laughed at the small pokemon's ravenous appetite. As it sat there, eyes pleading for more, Malcolm rolled his eyes.

"Alright, that was my last egg. But I got a few berries."

Malcolm covered up the small gas lamp that was heating his stove. As he began cleaning off the burnt scraps left over, he whistled at Split. She slowly made her way to the back pack and flicked the top open. 3 Razz berries floated out of the bag. They may have been a little bit past their prime in quality, but they were edible nonetheless. Split slowly floated them to the Patrat.

@jeroukoo

The wild Patrat jumped into the air three times. With each jump he caught another berry in his mouth. Once all three berries were ate, the Pokemon smiled wide, obviously thankful. He then took three leaps toward Malcolm, till he was looking up at the young man. He tilted his head and stared, waiting for Malcolm's next move. Now would be the perfect opportunity to throw a Pokeball, if Malcolm had one to spare.

@Alisdragon911

Faye walked out of the Pokemon Lab, barely able to believe everything had gone so smoothly. She was now a proud new trainer with a Pokemon, five Pokeballs, and a sleek Pokedex. Professor Brown didn't have any specific assignments for her at the moment. His instructions for now were simply to explore, ask the Pokedex questions, and have fun.

What would she do now? The possibilities were endless, but at the same time, that was a little scary.

Faye is a scare but stays calm as she let Gin out of her pokeball as the Tordiile is jumping and running around. Faye checks her Pokédex to see what moves Gin knows at the moment.

“Toto!”

“There is a forest nearby we can train and search for Pokémon.”

“Totedile!”

Faye hopes Professor Brown to give her a task as she follows Gin into the forest. To her it seems peaceful as she hears some Pokémon nearby as she is grateful her mom gave her a bag of medicine and food. Faye and Gin finds a nice spot in the forest to train and hopes to attract some pokemon nearby. Faye could not believe she is a Pokémon trainer as Gin playfully squirts Faye with a water gun.

The thought of catching the wild Patrat was tempting. The thing was very lost, and the chances of finding it's parents were relatively slim. But as always, money was the issue. Another mouth to feed, body to keep track of, potential other expenses like medication...

He pet the Patrat under the chin. "You find the rest of your pack, alright little guy? They probably miss you."

"Zu-zu!"

"Come on, Screech, you know we barely get by now..."

"Zubat! Zubaatt!"

"Electabuzz..."

"Guys, we all know how tight it is right now..." Malcolm rubbed his temples. "The little guy is gonna be fine..."

"Abra."

"The free food isn't something we can do all the time, guys, not everyone is as nice as nurse Ali-"

"Electabuzz?"

"You know why I won't fucking get one!" Malcolm shot up, kicking the camp stove in the process. The scream pierced the serenity of the nature around the group. Ex recoiled from Malcolm and Screech darted behind him. A few Rufflet flew from the nearby trees, and everything went quiet for a moment, with the only sound being a nearby creek's babbling.

Malcolm slowly ungritted his teeth and withdrew his hostile stance.

"I'm sorry guys, let's just..." Malcolm sighed once again. "Let's just get the restaurant."

He pulled out their pokeballs, returning them to their spherical little homes. He slowly walked over to the camp stove, hoping it was broken from being kicked so hard. He completely forgot about the Patrat that was there earlier.

@Alisdragon911

The nearby forest was a short 15 minute walk north from the Pokemon Lab. The forest wasn't that large. Even in the heart of it, you could hear the sound of cars on the roads that circled it. Still, it was a forest nonetheless, and Faye was already seeing Pokemon that she normally wouldn't in the hustle and bustle of the city.

Of course, there were Weedle all about and Kakuna hanging from the occasional tree, so there had to be Beedrill somewhere around, which would be something to be careful for, for sure. Spinarak climbed through the trees, which meant she would also need to watch for territorial Ariados.

Then after a good bit of walking around, she came across a less common sight, a wild Snivy. It was fighting off two Spinarak at once, and doing a decent job considering its type disadvantage. Still, two against one would not work for much longer.

(OOC Note: I'd say that, since this forest isn't that large and still close to the city, all the Pokemon here are fairly weak. No Pokemon here is over level 10. A pokedex scan can tell what level they are at, which is something you can decide. As long as they are under level 10, I'm fine with it. I don't need to decide for you. In fact, I'd rather not, to save time.)

@jeroukoo

When Malcolm kicked the camp stove and shouted, the wild Patrat ran away in fear. And so, after packing his things away, Malcolm continued onward. He arrived at the restaurant just before 3pm. "The Fort, Saloon and Eatery" was clearly more of a bar than a restaurant. It wan't very busy yet, with only a few people at the bar and half the tables full.

Malcolm was greeted with a frown by one of the servers. When Malcolm told her he was hear to work, she gave him a fake smile then went to get the manager. The manager was all business when he arrived. He ushered Malcolm to the kitchen as quickly as possible, clearly embarrassed by Malcolm's appearance.

The "training" was brief. Bobby (the manager) showed Malcolm how to operate the large, outdated dishwasher, and he showed where to put all the dishes after they had dried. Nobody else talked to Malcolm the whole time. Everyone seemed to be avoiding him. Malcolm got to work straight away, washing the pots and pans left over from the cooks preparing for the day.

The first two hours would go by rather steady, making Malcolm think this might just be easy. But by 5:00pm, dishes started piling up. No matter how fast he moved, the stacks kept getting higher. And as it would turn out, taking out the trash and unclogging a toilet were also part of the job.

(OOC Note: You mind if we ignore the times mentioned in past posts. I say this because, in real life, the restaurant where this takes place, doesn't open till 3pm. Or we could go back and adjust our timelines. Sorry about that. lol.)

(OOC: Thats fine! No need to worry.)

The heat of the dishwasher was making Malcolm sweat more than he anticipated. He would have to visit the laundromat after this for sure. The job was proving to be more intensive than he imagined, he didn't expect this many dishes would need to be washed so quickly.

"Hey temp, trash duty." One of the other employees called out to Malcolm. "And after that, women's bathroom."

This place is a shit show...

But money was money. Malcolm put the dish he was working on in the dishwasher and took the bag.

"And try not to hang out in the trash too long. I know there's no place like home, but you got a job to do." The employee snickered as he went back to his duties. Malcolm grumbled some obscenities underneath his breath, but didn't give the employee much more than that. He had heard worse. Malcolm walked out the back door, tossing the bag in the dumpster. He made his way back inside, not looking forward to the rest of his shift.

Gin use water Gun to attack the second Spinarak as the Spinarak shoots string at the Totodile trapping her from moving than charge. Gin uses her claws to get out of the sticky string and dodges. The Snivy is starting to its strength from the poison from being stung by the Spinarak. Snivy uses Vine whip to keep fighting off the Spinarak.

“Gin use Water Gun to slam the Soinarak into the other Spinarak.”

“Toto,” the Totodile let the Spinarak trap her in its string shot as the Spinarak charge Gin release a water gun at the Spinarak. The two Spinarak collide with each other hitting a tree. Faye heats a loud buzzing sound and have a bad feeling about the Pokémon comeing their way.

“Run,” Gin picks up the Snivy and runs with Faye to escape with her.

@jeroukoo

Malcolm's shift continued to get worse and worse until around 11pm. From there, guests were eating less and drinking more. Washing glassware was much easier. No need to rinse them off; just send them through. At least, that's how easy Malcolm thought it would be. At 11:30, the kitchen stared sending back more pots, pans, and all kinds of things that they had been using all day. And so, the dishpit was filling up, yet again...

Finally, by 1:00am things were moving slow and steady. The restaurant would be closed in an hour, but of course, Malcolm would have to stay till the last dish was washed, which wouldn't be till around 2:30am.

When Malcolm finally would make it out of this hell hole, he would be slapped with another reality. While he had been in here, next to a hot dishwasher, the temperature outside had dropped considerably. -5°F to be exact (and falling).

(OOC Note: Btw, this is where I'm going for weather data: timeanddate.com/weather/usa/casper/hi…)

@Alisdragon911

Faye was correct to retreat. That buzzing was the unmistakable sound of Beedrill, out paroling what they considered to be their territory. Back at the safety of the roadside, Faye sat with Gin and the wild Snivy. The two Pokemon looked tired, especially the Snivy. They sat back to back, leaning against each other for support.

Then, a thought popped into Faye's head. Why was this Snivy alone? Should she try to catch it? Or did it have a family to get back to?

(OOC Note #1: Btw, I haven't mentioned the weather around Faye's area, because it's just overcast and around 70°F, nothing special.)

(OOC Note #2: While Faye can't talk to this Snivy and ask him his story. I'll go ahead and let you know what's up with him. He is a little brave fellow that has said goodbye to his family to travel the world, just like Faye. His family is from deep inside the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, and he's been on his own for two days. He would be a good fit for Faye's team, if she wants him.)

OOC: Oof, Malcolm is gonna become a popsicle XD

As Malcolm finished his shift and walked outside, the frigid cold hit him immediately. He instinctively hiked up his shoulders and his teeth began to chatter.

"S-s-son of a bitch, this is too much..." Malcolm breath obscured his face as he spoke. "I gotta find some place inside..."

As Malcolm combed through public places where he could stay warm for the night, he thought of the pokémon center. The Nurse earlier had offered him a place to stay and a bath. Considering the current circumstances, he may have to take her up on that offer. After trying to think of more places he could stay for the night and none coming to mind, he reached for Split's pokéball and let her out. Even the stoic abra shuddered at the temperature they were in.

"Hey Split, teleport us back to the pokécenter," Malcolm shivered as he spoke. "It's too cold for camping tonight."

"Abra..." Split nodded, and in an instant, they were outside of the pokécenter. Malcolm quickly made his way inside, looking to see who was at the front desk.

@jeroukoo

The Pokemon Center was quiet when Malcolm arrived, but the lights were on, so he knew it was still open. Only problem, when he walked up to the door it wouldn't open. Earlier that day, they opened on their own, but now they weren't. Off to the side of these sliding doors, there was a regular door as well, but it was locked. On the wall, next to the door, there was a place to swipe a trainer card. That was the key to getting inside.

Just as Malcolm was ready to give up and turn away, someone came running from inside the building. It was a young man, not much older than Malcolm himself. He wore scrubs, like the other nurses, only his was dark blue.

He unlocked the door and let Malcolm inside. "What in the Dark Dimension are you doing out this late in this weather!?" The guy asked, clearly concerned for Malcolm's safty, as well as his Abra. "Did you loose your trainer card or something?"

Faye pulls out some berries and gives both Pokémon some of the berries. Gin will ask the Snivy about his story lateras she watch the Snivy fall asleep after eating the berries. Faye pulls out a pokeball and throws it at the Snivy, she waits for the red light on the pokeball turn green. Faye smiles as she went to pick up the pokeball and to pet Gin.

“We got our first team mate and a new friend.”

“Toto!”

Faye calls Gin back into her pokeball and puts both poke balls into her bag as she hears a Pikachu. She pulls out her phone and sees a new notification, it says there is a New Pokémon Gym just open today. She looks through her notifications as she notices there is a Pokémon Contest coming up soon. She pulls up the map on her phone to see how far the Pokémon Gym is from her location. To Faye she needs to train her Pokémon and catch one more Pokémon before taking on a Gym battle as she looks at the over cast sky.